Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring

Groundhog Club Co-handler John Griffiths, left, holds the weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, Saturday on Groundhog Day after he was taken from the stump before the club said Phil did not see his shadow and there will be an early spring.

An end to winter's bitter cold will come soon, according to Pennsylvania's famous groundhog. Following a recent stretch of weather that's included both record warm temperatures and bitter cold, tornadoes in the South and Midwest and torrential rains in the mid-Atlantic, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his lair Saturday in front of thousands but didn't see his shadow.

Legend has it that if the furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2 on Gobbler's Knob in west-central Pennsylvania, winter will last six more weeks. But if he doesn't see his shadow, spring will come early.

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